I reviewed the following blog's Commercial solar Entry. I found it to be very informative. However, I have no experience with solar panels in commercial applications so the technical terms confused me. If someone was familiar with this particular technology, they would probably understand most of the material presented. This blog entry went on to describe benefits of installing this for a business as well as the ROI of investing in this technology.
One of the items missing from this blog was a call to action. Darren Rowse lists this as the final sign of an effective blog in a blog entry he wrote. This blog should have had a call to action for businesses to purchase this technology. It could have listed web sites to purchase the technology as well as grant application links. This blog was very informative and contains valuable information, however it does not contain a call to action.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Twitters to Follow
Twitter is the only SM channel that I have intentionally not joined. I was on Facebook the second my college could have it. I utilized Pinterst as soon as my account was approved. Twitter is whole other story. I think the symbols and amount of time following celebrities made me think twice about joining. However, day that has changed. For a class assignment I had to join Twitter. Since I enjoy traveling and want to spend the rest of my life seeing the sights I tried to gear my Twitter toward traveling. I decided to follow The Travel Channel, Andrew Zimmerman and Samantha Brown. I want Samantha Brown's job one day- whenever she decided to retire. I am considering following Ashton and Lindsey Lohan- but only for entertainment purposes. I do not expect learn anything intelligent from their Tweets.
On another note, I have decided to follow some sustainability tweets. The Carbon Footprint one sounds the most interesting to me. I feel like it relates to travel in some sort of way. Overall, this assignment has caused to enter the world of Twitter and embrace it, one tweet at a time.
@KaraHopeH
On another note, I have decided to follow some sustainability tweets. The Carbon Footprint one sounds the most interesting to me. I feel like it relates to travel in some sort of way. Overall, this assignment has caused to enter the world of Twitter and embrace it, one tweet at a time.
@KaraHopeH
Friday, September 21, 2012
The Value of a LinkedIn profile
Discuss: What is your opinion of LinkedIn? What are the pros & cons? Be sure to include whether or not your currently have a LI profile. Are you a member of a LI group? Are you a regular contributor to the group? Do you post regular status updates and/or send notes to colleagues to keep in touch? What has your experience been? What have you learned about LI? ie. What advice would you give to a user? If you do not currently use LI, do you have plans to start? If yes, what will your focus be? If no, why not?
LinkedIn is a social media platform that I have lots of experience with. I have used it from a marketing perspective for an employer and also, for personal growth and looking for a new job. I would describe LinkedIn as Facebook for professionals. When I utilized LinkedIn for marketing purposes, I was a regular contributor to groups related to the industry my company was part of. I would post relevant articles, monitor group activity and post releases that I wrote for the company. One of posts, in particular, lead to me being the lead contributor for a couple of weeks. My contribution led to meeting other professionals within the industry. Since my job has change, I am no longer actively contributing to any groups.
This summer I went through a job transition. One of the ways I searched for new jobs was connecting with people on LinkedIn and applying for jobs through LinkedIn. I completed my profile, as well as searched thru all of my connections to find more people to connect and reach out to. This process taught me the power behind LinkedIn and the need to maintain my profile. As a result, the second I got my new job, I immediately updated my profile and began reaching out to my new colleagues.
Eventually I would like to be active in groups and connect to people within my profession, however this takes time. I believe it is better to post quality content here versus posting something every day that may or not may not be useful. I would advise someone to build their profile completely, reach out to friends and colleagues to start building connections and join groups related to your profession. Once you join the groups, learn group etiquette and then contribute meaningful material to those groups. When you contribute it establishes credibility and leads to more connections.
The only downside I have with LinkedIn is that it takes time to update statuses, post content and reach out to old colleagues. However this is the case with all Social Media mediums. When I have more time, I would like to spend some it on LinkedIn, because I believe it is a valuable tool in the professional social media world.
LinkedIn is a social media platform that I have lots of experience with. I have used it from a marketing perspective for an employer and also, for personal growth and looking for a new job. I would describe LinkedIn as Facebook for professionals. When I utilized LinkedIn for marketing purposes, I was a regular contributor to groups related to the industry my company was part of. I would post relevant articles, monitor group activity and post releases that I wrote for the company. One of posts, in particular, lead to me being the lead contributor for a couple of weeks. My contribution led to meeting other professionals within the industry. Since my job has change, I am no longer actively contributing to any groups.
This summer I went through a job transition. One of the ways I searched for new jobs was connecting with people on LinkedIn and applying for jobs through LinkedIn. I completed my profile, as well as searched thru all of my connections to find more people to connect and reach out to. This process taught me the power behind LinkedIn and the need to maintain my profile. As a result, the second I got my new job, I immediately updated my profile and began reaching out to my new colleagues.
Eventually I would like to be active in groups and connect to people within my profession, however this takes time. I believe it is better to post quality content here versus posting something every day that may or not may not be useful. I would advise someone to build their profile completely, reach out to friends and colleagues to start building connections and join groups related to your profession. Once you join the groups, learn group etiquette and then contribute meaningful material to those groups. When you contribute it establishes credibility and leads to more connections.
The only downside I have with LinkedIn is that it takes time to update statuses, post content and reach out to old colleagues. However this is the case with all Social Media mediums. When I have more time, I would like to spend some it on LinkedIn, because I believe it is a valuable tool in the professional social media world.
Lesson 12, second half
Social Media policy is something to consider for all companies in to in order to themselves and one of their greatest assets: their employees. I agree with the article titled “Should Your Company Have a Social Media Policy” that a social media policy should apply to every employee within an organization and just the marketing department. This is because all employees market the company whether positively or negatively.
The article went on to discuss a great point- when a company gives employees tools, such as access to SM, training needs to be done on how to properly use the tool.
So many times, companies do not implement policies and procedures until it is too late. This article does a great job of creating a sense of urgency for implementation of the SM policy. If a company implements a policy sooner versus later, they have the ability to create a positive SM experience instead of reacting to a negative one.
I think this article could have done a better job on touching on who forms the policy and how. The author is an HR professional, and this is the department that typically creates employee wide policies. I believe for a policy of this scale, a variety of departments should have a say in policy. If representatives from HR, marketing, sales, finance and operations/ IT all collaborate together the policy can created can cover all departments and their specific needs/ uses for particular SM. I also, believe when using collaboration, the policy will be accepted company-wide quicker and with less disagreement about its implementation. Overall, the article was easy to understand and I agree with most parts of it.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Lesson 10- Sustainability Uses for Wiki
Plant Bottle Wiki Idea
People have become increasingly concerned about the environment and the harmful effects of too much waste. In 2010, Coca-Cola created Plant Bottle. Plant Bottle is made from 30% waste from Sugarcane instead of strictly traditional PET, which is petroleum-based. Coca-Cola began bottling it’s Dasani brand water in this packaging and seeks to expand its use to all of its products by 2020. Plant Bottle technology is not just for Coca-Cola products. It can be used in any plastic container product. Heinz purchased a license in 2011 to begin using Plant Bottle technology for its 20oz Ketchup container.
I think there should be a Wiki page created for Plant Bottle. The technology is new, but can be used in tons of applications for tons of industries. By creating a wiki page, more people will become aware of the Plant Bottle and offer feedback for enhancing the technology or additional uses for it. If this page is created, I think it would be successful in spreading the technology and eventually decreasing the use PET.
To see information on Plant Bottle and its technology visit the Coca-Cola Live Positively page.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Online/ Offline Media
SeaWorld is one of my favorite places. I have not had the opportunity to go since they created the Atlantis roller-coaster several years back. SeaWorld specifically used social media to promote this campaign and had a very successful turnout, the first two weekends the coaster was open. SeaWorld targeted 20 bloggers that were classified as roller coaster enthusiasts. I think this was a brilliant idea. They made them feel like VIPs and appreciated. By choosing to target bloggers, they chose to target people who were familiar and comfortable with the world of social media.
Seaworld also posted a series of videos, which consisted of construction all the way to the first day the ride operated, on YouTube, and Veoh. They made them easily accessible and easy to share and re-post. They then shared the video with their audience of coaster lovers. By choosing mediums that are easy to share, SeaWorld achieved word-of-mouth marketing with customers actually interested in roller-coasters for a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing methods. I believe this what made them successful at their campaign.
If I had done SeaWorld's campaign there is one thing I would have done differently. I would have offered the 20 bloggers, that were classified as VIP, the chance to ride one week before its official opening and media day. I am a strong believer in test-driving a product before purchasing it. I think if the bloggers had an opportunity to write about their experience before the ride launched it would have drawn more people to visit the park. I also believe that employees are some of the best marketers for a company. I would have had a special day for the employees to try out the new ride and have their picture taken, digitally, to share with friends, etc. This would have attracted a lot of local people.
SeaWorld conducted surveys the first two weekends the ride was open. The survey results indicate that the ride was a success and therefore the social media campaign was a success. More people came to ride, and the campaign was the fraction of the cost of a traditional marketing campaign.
All three campaigns engage people through social media that are actual prospective customers. In addition, they used multiple social media platforms and sought feedback through them. They offered content that was easy to view and share with friends. Each of the three cases had physical events to attend making all the social media come together around a central focus. Overall, SeaWorld and the other companies leveraged several mediums in the social media world to promote and create a positive event.
Seaworld also posted a series of videos, which consisted of construction all the way to the first day the ride operated, on YouTube, and Veoh. They made them easily accessible and easy to share and re-post. They then shared the video with their audience of coaster lovers. By choosing mediums that are easy to share, SeaWorld achieved word-of-mouth marketing with customers actually interested in roller-coasters for a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing methods. I believe this what made them successful at their campaign.
If I had done SeaWorld's campaign there is one thing I would have done differently. I would have offered the 20 bloggers, that were classified as VIP, the chance to ride one week before its official opening and media day. I am a strong believer in test-driving a product before purchasing it. I think if the bloggers had an opportunity to write about their experience before the ride launched it would have drawn more people to visit the park. I also believe that employees are some of the best marketers for a company. I would have had a special day for the employees to try out the new ride and have their picture taken, digitally, to share with friends, etc. This would have attracted a lot of local people.
SeaWorld conducted surveys the first two weekends the ride was open. The survey results indicate that the ride was a success and therefore the social media campaign was a success. More people came to ride, and the campaign was the fraction of the cost of a traditional marketing campaign.
All three campaigns engage people through social media that are actual prospective customers. In addition, they used multiple social media platforms and sought feedback through them. They offered content that was easy to view and share with friends. Each of the three cases had physical events to attend making all the social media come together around a central focus. Overall, SeaWorld and the other companies leveraged several mediums in the social media world to promote and create a positive event.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Multi- Generation
Its hard to believe that five generations of people are working under the same roof. It seems like just yesterday, Generation 9/11 was entering high school, not graduating, going to college and entering the professional workforce. I am officially part of Generation X or Millennials. I interact with Generation Y and Baby Boomers every day at work. I decided to interview a Baby Boomer since I support two of them at my current job.
Each generation has a different view of what social media is. When I interviewed Linda, I asked her what was her definition of social media. She said "Social media is any form of communication between two individuals in which there is no eye contact or physical contact. This includes email, texting. Facebook. Linkedin, Twitter. etc" Right away I feel slightly different from her. Social media can have face to face contact like facetime in the iPad and voice can be used when blogging or creating video for YouTube.
Next Linda and I talked about usage of social media, how often and what specific forms of social media were used. Linda says she uses it daily to communicate with friends, family and work customers. However, she is referring to email here. Linda said she texts a couple of times a week, mostly to talk to her children since this is their main source of communication. She has both a Facebook and LinkedIn profile, however these were created by a younger family member and are not used more than once a week.
I personally utilize email all the time as well. I email friends, family, work and school peers every day, so Linda and I share that aspect of usage. However, I utilize Facebook almost everyday and I utilized LinkedIn every day when I was looking for a new job. I also blog about traveling in my spare time. My usage is different from Linda's usage.
Linda's personal view on social media is very typical of a Baby Boomer and very different from a Generation Y. She said "My first experiences with social media outlets like Facebook was the observation that a lot of time was spent with virtually nothing accomplished. Because of this, I have in the past tried to avoid social medias. My experience with them is consequently very limited." I personally view social media as tools for me to learn, communicate and express myself. I have them as a blessing and less like a burden.
Despite Linda thinking social media was a waste of time she is starting to see the benefit of it especially for her small business. Linda and I both share the desire to learn. As a result, she recently took a seminar that went over the basics of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Like me, Linda is starting to see that there is some real value in social media and is exploring opportunities learning how to use it.
Every generation thinks and acts differently. When they come together in the work place, new ideas are formed and new tensions arise. As seen in the above interview, each generation has very different views on whether of not social media is worth time and money to a company. It is important, to cater to all generations when presenting a campaign to a company. Raising profits is important to Baby Boomers while Generation X and Y see it as a place to share new ideas and learn new things. If all of these points are conveyed in a social media pitch, then all generations can see the benefit of a social media campaign for their particular organization.
Each generation has a different view of what social media is. When I interviewed Linda, I asked her what was her definition of social media. She said "Social media is any form of communication between two individuals in which there is no eye contact or physical contact. This includes email, texting. Facebook. Linkedin, Twitter. etc" Right away I feel slightly different from her. Social media can have face to face contact like facetime in the iPad and voice can be used when blogging or creating video for YouTube.
Next Linda and I talked about usage of social media, how often and what specific forms of social media were used. Linda says she uses it daily to communicate with friends, family and work customers. However, she is referring to email here. Linda said she texts a couple of times a week, mostly to talk to her children since this is their main source of communication. She has both a Facebook and LinkedIn profile, however these were created by a younger family member and are not used more than once a week.
I personally utilize email all the time as well. I email friends, family, work and school peers every day, so Linda and I share that aspect of usage. However, I utilize Facebook almost everyday and I utilized LinkedIn every day when I was looking for a new job. I also blog about traveling in my spare time. My usage is different from Linda's usage.
Linda's personal view on social media is very typical of a Baby Boomer and very different from a Generation Y. She said "My first experiences with social media outlets like Facebook was the observation that a lot of time was spent with virtually nothing accomplished. Because of this, I have in the past tried to avoid social medias. My experience with them is consequently very limited." I personally view social media as tools for me to learn, communicate and express myself. I have them as a blessing and less like a burden.
Despite Linda thinking social media was a waste of time she is starting to see the benefit of it especially for her small business. Linda and I both share the desire to learn. As a result, she recently took a seminar that went over the basics of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Like me, Linda is starting to see that there is some real value in social media and is exploring opportunities learning how to use it.
Every generation thinks and acts differently. When they come together in the work place, new ideas are formed and new tensions arise. As seen in the above interview, each generation has very different views on whether of not social media is worth time and money to a company. It is important, to cater to all generations when presenting a campaign to a company. Raising profits is important to Baby Boomers while Generation X and Y see it as a place to share new ideas and learn new things. If all of these points are conveyed in a social media pitch, then all generations can see the benefit of a social media campaign for their particular organization.
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